Best Home WiFi Routers - Summer 2012

June 27, 2012 5:10:56 PM

Five Best Home Wi-Fi Routers

lifehacker.com

 Buying a wi-fi router these days is no easy task. Long gone are the days where one model rose above the rest: now there are routers with different features, some that focus on range, others that focus on speed, and still others with advanced features like NAS support and traffic shaping options. This week we're going to take a look at five of the best home wi-fi routers, based on your nominations.
Earlier in the week, we asked you which wireless routers you thought were the bestfor customization, range, signal strength, and features. You responded with more nominees than we could feature here, but a few models really rose out of the pack and were your clear favorites. Here they are:

Linksys WRT54G Series

The venerable Linksys WRT54G has long been one of the most hackable wireless routers on the market, and while they're a little trickier to come by these days, they're still widely available and if you can get your hands on one, you won't find another router that supports both the DD-WRT and Tomato alternate router firmwares better and more smoothly. Even though it's an 802.11g model and lacks 802.11n, and the range and speed of some of its more modern rivals, it's a rock solid router with a well earned fan base. It may be end-of-life from Linksys' perspective, but they do keep a well-updated support page dedicated to it. There's a reason this model has its own entry here.

Apple Airport Extreme /Express

A number of you nominated the Apple Airport Extreme and Airport Express for their simple configuration, minimal design, and remarkably low price point for what you get. It's not terribly hackable, and you're not going to buy an Airport model and go home planning to install custom firmware, but you will be able to slip an Airport Express in your pocket or suitcase and be able to set up or extend a wireless network anywhere you go (or plug it into any set of speakers to make them Airplay compatible), and you will be able to set up an Airport Extreme in a matter of minutes and have a cozy dual band 802.11n blanket over your whole house. The Express sports a pair of 10/100 Ethernet ports on the back, and the Extreme boasts four gigabit Ethernet ports for other devices. Both offer USB ports for connected devices like printers or (in the case of the Extreme) NAS devices. If you want a truly fire-and-forget router, the Airport Extreme is a good choice.

Netgear N Series (WNDR Models)

Netgear has come a long way, and its N-series (also known by their model numbers, WNDRXXXX) wireless routers are proof. PC Mag issued the N750/WNDR4000 an Editor's Choice award (and I'm a happy owner of one!) and the N900/WNDR4500 is one of the most powerful and speedy dual-band 802.11n home routers on the market today. Many of Netgear's N-series routers are compatible with DD-WRT, but even if you're not the type to flash your router's firmware, Netgear's own firmware offers quality-of-service controls, advanced access and parental controls, support for dynamic DNS, advanced wireless security options, and offer support for NAS devices and printers connected via USB. They range in price, and many of the better ones are definitely on the high-end, but in this case you get what you pay for.

ASUS RT Series

You may not think of ASUS when you think of wireless routers, especially if you haven't purchased a router in several years, but the ASUS RT series, specifically theASUS RT-N56 and RT-N66 models, combine great features and sharp looks into a networking package that offers dual-band 802.11n, support for connected devices like printers and NAS devices via USB, and some of the strongest signal strength and range available. Plus, most of ASUS's models support builds of DD-WRT or Tomato, so if you want even more control over the router's features, it's readily available to you. The RT-N66 even has detachable antennae that you can swap out for higher-powered versions that you can either buy (like the Mohu Bounce ) or build yourself .

Linksys E Series

When Linksys started to phase out the WRT54G series, they started to direct customers to the E Series—their easy-to-configure (and sharp-looking) replacement models. Every member of the E Series is an 802.11n router, and many of you praised them—specifically the E4200 —for their blend of features, simple setup, range and signal strength, and the fact that many of the E-series routers are compatible with DD-WRT, so you can flash the firmware and get even more features once the router is set up the way you like. Linksys' price point is attractive as well, and even if you opt not to flash the firmware, you can very affordably buy a router that takes moments to set up and needs little maintenance after the fact. It doesn't hurt that many of Cisco's routers specifically support household features like VoIP and traffic shaping for things like torrents, putting some relatively advanced features in the hands of people who may have been intimidated by them before.
Now that you've seen the top five, it's time to put them to an all out vote to decide the winner!


No honorable mentions this week, as the next one down the line had fewer than half the nominations of the least nominated member of the top five, but if you think your favorite model got shortchanged, let us know why in the comments below! Remember, the top five are based on your most popular nominations from the call for contenders thread from earlier in the week . Share your thoughts in the comments below.
The Hive Five is based on reader nominations. As with most Hive Five posts, if your favorite was left out, it's not because we hate it—it's because it didn't get the nominations required in the call for contenders post to make the top five. We understand it's a bit of a popularity contest, but if you have a favorite, we want to hear about it. Have a suggestion for the Hive Five? Send us an email at tips+hivefive@lifehacker.com !
Photo by nrkbeta .

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Infographic: When to Purchase Fruits, Vegetables & Herbs

June 27, 2012 4:53:52 PM

Kitchen 101: Fruits, Vegetables & Herbs | Chasing Delicious

chasingdelicious.com

The Produce posters are now available for purchase in 8×10 and 11×17 prints at the Chasing Delicious Store . 
I'd be remiss if I simply focused on imparting technical knowledge in these Kitchen 101 posts without talking about ingredients, particularly the biggest misconception about produce today: it is naturally available year-round. Though you may be able to find just about every type of fruit, vegetable or herb everyday of the year in the grocery store, a majority of those items are not in season. If you are buying a strawberry in december, you are likely purchasing a fruit that was picked six months ago and stored in a climate controlled facility. Or you are buying a berry that has spent the last few weeks in a shipping container as it trekked halfway across the globe from somewhere in the southern hemisphere. This extra time between picking and eating means loss of nutrients, flavor and more.
Time spent in transit is not the only over-inflated aspect of buying produce out of season. Massive refrigerated storage facilities and cross-globe journeys are expensive. There's a reason that summertime $1 pint of strawberries  is magically $8 six months later. And then there is the environment. The carbon footprint associated with out of season produce can be astronomical.
The biggest problem with buying out of season produce though is the lack of freshness and sacrifice in flavor and nutrients. There are far too many, far too boring reasons to elaborate on this point but I will say there is a reason many high end restaurants and millions of foodies around the world only buy produce when it is in season.  You save money, contribute a smaller carbon foot print, are getting a better product that typically tastes much better and you know  it hasn't been sitting for half a year somewhere.

My favorite part about abiding by an ingredient's natural availability is what I like to call the Thanksgiving-effect.  Most of us only eat those famous turkey-day dishes on thanksgiving because the meal, and each particular dish, is more special that way. Approaching fruits and vegetables with the same zealous attention to seasonal availability makes that tiny dewberry window in May all the more special.
That being said, there are many factors that effects a particular ingredients season. The strawberry season down here in Texas is much different than it is up north. Location is not the only variable that plays a part. Seasons can change from year to year as weather, pests, bumper crops, soil conditions, etc can all play their part as well. Certain vegetables and fruits have so many varieties or such a long season that they can be considered to be in season year-round as well.
Click through to bookmark, print or purchase three posters on the seasonal availability of fruits, vegetables and herbs (for those of us living in the northern hemisphere).

Tips for sourcing in season produce

 While these charts will provide you with a general understanding of what is in season when, there are three additional steps you can take to ensure you are eating in season produce.
First, I suggest taking the time to befriend the produce manager at your local market or store. They will likely work directly with distributors (and if you have a good market/store then they will work directly with farmers) so they will be able to know the quirks of that year's season. If you are unsure, just call them up and ask if the produce they're receiving is farm-fresh from your hemisphere or if it has been in storage. It wouldn't hurt to know your store/market's operations or general manager either.
Second,  become good friends with some local farmers too. It is almost impossible to grow decent produce out of season and most local farmers won't have the resources to store produce for long periods of time; the produce you see at their stand was likely picked just a few days ago. Approach the farm with due diligence as well;  visit the farm and be nosey about how they manage their operations.
Third, – and this is your best bet – grow your own produce. You will quickly learn, especially if you live somewhere with weather extremes (like Texas or Canada with their hot and cold weather extremes respectively), that it is almost impossible to grow good, tasteful produce out of season. This first hand experience and understanding will give you pause when you go into the store to buy tomatoes in January.

Buy a print: 8×10  | 11×17

Fruits

While fruit from a botanical sense can mean a very different thing from fruit from a culinary standpoint, both are incredibly vast categories. In the kitchen, if it's sweet and grows on a plant then we call it fruit. Because of this there is no unified fruits season, or characteristics for fruits as a whole that will help you identify good, in season fruit.
When looking at fruits, look at color, size, shape and try to spot any noticeable blemishes. Most fruits are typically very bold and vibrant when ripe so dull-colored fruit can be a sign of an unripe or undeveloped fruit. You've spent your life around produce so any fruit that looks abnormally small or large is probably a sign that it may not be in the best condition. And anything with a blemish, bruise, hole or other out-of-the-ordinary mark should be avoided.

Tips for picking fruits: Don't squeeze the damn thing. Not only will this tell you little to nothing about the quality of the fruit but all it does is damage it or you or the next person who comes along and picks it up. Instead pick it up and feel the weight. Most fruits, especially oranges and apples, should feel heavy for their size; this is typically an indication of a dense, juicy fruit.

Take the time to read the sticker on the fruit. Where is it coming from? Whether or not you care about the carbon footprint associated with a particular fruit, its origin will tell you a great deal about how long it has been since it was picked and even if it is in season or not.

Citrus: Most citrus will not ripen off the tree so what you buy is what you will end up with. With limes and lemons, the darker the color the sweeter it will be and the lighter the color, the more tart it will be.

One of the reasons some fruits have such a large growing season is because of the number of cultivars developed. Some fruits though have a naturally long growing seasons and others which typically have short seasons have been successfully grown in areas where the growing season is extended.

Cultivars: Take the time to research different cultivars. While some new inventions are truly delicious, many have been created to support long growing seasons and not always for delicious flavor and top-notch quality.

Buy a print: 8×10  | 11×17

Vegetables

Vegetable is another term that encompasses a very wide range of items in the kitchen. Because of this there is no unified vegetable season, or characteristics for vegetables as a whole that will help you identify good, in season vegetables.
While color, size, shape and noticeable blemishes can help you identify good vegetables, many vegetables are naturally void of color, come from the ground so they are covered in dirt, or are irregular in shape. Vegetables that are colorful are typically very bold and vibrant when ripe so dull-colored vegetables can be a sign of an unripe or undeveloped vegetable. Again, you've spent your life around produce so trust your intuition. And as always anything with a blemish, bruise, hole or other out-of-the-ordinary mark should be avoided.

Tips for picking vegetables:  Smell can be a very good sense to pay attention to when buy produce, especially for many vegetables. Most will have a delightfully pungent smell – obviously specific to the type of vegetable – so those with no smell might not be fresh or were picked too soon.

Again, read the label on the vegetable. Where it comes from is a big indicator of freshness and whether it is in season in your area or not.

Buy a print: 8×10  | 11×17

Herbs

While herbs tend to reflect a more specified type of comestible, they are still varied and cover numerous genus of plants and therefore cannot be classified all together. While in cooking herbs typically refer to leafy greens or flowers and spices to the rest of the plant, in botany and here I use herb to refer to the plant as a whole including all of it's parts.
Most herbs are green (as most herbs are some form of leaf) so you should always be on the lookout for a vibrant green. A lighter green, yellow or brown leaf could all indicate a poor quality herb.

Tips for picking herbs: With herbs, you can trust both sight and smell. Most herbs are a vibrant color at their healthiest and most herbs will also carry a very strong smell.  The best indicator for fresh herbs is taste. Don't be afraid to clip off a leaf and take a taste. I not only do this in the market, but I will do it when I'm at a nursery trying to pick a particular variety of herb to purchase.

Herbs are also some of the easiest edible plants to grow. In fact, many of us probably have some sort of herb growing in our garden already, whether we know it or not. While each plant will require it's own growing conditions most require lots of sun, a warm growing season, well drained and nutrient rich soil and occasional trimming. You should never let an herb grow flowers (unless of course the flowers are the portion you use) as an herb left to flower will have bitter leaves.

Growing herbs to make spices:  Not only can you grow herbs for their leafy greens but you can grow them to harvest spices as well (using the seeds, pods, fruits, stems, etc from the plant). While this take more work and a bit more attention to harvest times the results are well worth the extra work.

I hope this little look into fruits, vegetables and herbs is helpful. Whether you are a strict seasonal-only shopper or not, knowing what produce is in season when can be very advantageous. Not only will you notice fresher taste and stronger flavors but you will see a marked increase in savings, and a heightened sense of anticipation and appreciation for each season.

Note about this post:  The post is meant to be used as a reference and has been researched and collected from numerous sources including but not limited to: Karen Page and Andrew Dorenburg of "The Flavor Bible", Glenn Rinsky and Laura Halpin Rinksy of "The Pastry Chef's Companion: A Comprehensive Resource Guide for the Baking and Pastry Professional" and from Bi Friberg of "The Professional Pastry Chef, Fundamentals of Baking and Pastry" Fourth Edition. 
Check out the other Kitchen 101  posts or view the Produce Calendars page.
Don't forget to check out the Chasing Delicious Store  where you can buy all three posters or the fruits , herbs and vegetables posters separately.  Ten percent of all poster sale profits will go towards supporting  education in the culinary arts.  

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Infographic: When to Buy Produce

Easy Ways to Add Nutritional Value to Any Meal

March 3, 2012 9:39:28 PM

Easy Ways to Give Any Meal a Powerful Nutritional Boost

lifehacker.com

You don't need a bunch of pills and supplements to make sure you get your daily dose of vitamins and minerals. There are plenty of easy ways to add a big nutritional boost to your dishes and make an already healthy meal even better for your mind and your body. We asked a nutritionist to give us some pointers on simple ways to get a big improvement in our diet, and here's what he suggested.

Improve Your Meal by Sprinkling On Some Delicious Nutritional All-Stars

We sat down with Andy Bellatti , a Seattle-based registered dietitian and nutritionist who's helped us before with our first food myths post and its myth-smashing sequel . We asked him how you can boost the nutritional content of your meals. It turns out there are some nutritional all-stars that make for great additions to soups, stews, yogurt, pilafs, salads, and more. Here are a few:

•  Chia Seeds . More commonly known as the seed that makes the infamous chia pet fluffy and green, chia seeds are also a remarkable source of fiber (4 grams per serving), magnesium ("a mineral most Americans don't get enough of," says Andy), and well over a day's worth of heart healthy Omega-3 fatty acids. Plus, Andy notes that serving of chia seeds will add about 60 calories to your salad, stew, or oatmeal—a tiny caloric boost when compared to the nutritional gains you get. Photo by José Maria Silveira Neto .
• Nutritional Yeast . Nutritional yeast is actually a favorite of mine, and Andy loves it too. I stumbled onto it when entertaining a vegan friend, who suggested I sprinkle some on popcorn. Sure enough, nutritional yeast has a very cheesy, Parmesan-like flavor that's good on vegetables, in dips, and anywhere you want a cheesy, umami flavor boost. "A 2 tablespoon serving," Andy notes, "provides 4 g of fiber, 8 g of protein, loads of B vitamins, and as much potassium as a small banana. Some brands are especially fortified with vitamin B12." You can't go wrong here, especially if you love savory foods.
• Nori (Seaweed). If you haven't tried adding nori strips or snacks to your diet, you're missing out on another delicious savory boost with big nutritional bonuses. Most people know nori from their sushi rolls, but it can also be ripped and flaked over soups, salads, and even laid over noodles. Nori is also rich in vitamins A and C, and EPA (a type of omega-3 that's normally found in fish…because they eat sea vegetables.)
• Wheat Germ . Wheat germ is another staple in my kitchen, and adds a crunchy, nutty, and mildly sweet flavor that's specifically good as a lightly crunchy topper for yogurt, cereal, or oatmeal, and is also a great additive to mix in if you're making your own cereal or granola or even whipping up a batch of energy bars . "A 50 calorie, 2 tablespoon serving," says Andy, "delivers 2.5 grams of fiber and is an excellent source of manganese, zinc, iron, and thiamin."
• Cocoa Powder and Cacao Nibs . Two different products born from the same plant, cocoa powder can add fiber, potassium, and magnesium when sprinkled into a smoothie or mixed into a drink. Be sure to get unsweetened, non-alkalized cocoa ('non-alkalized' means its other healthful compounds aren't processed away.) Cacao nibs on the other hand are 100% cocoa, and include the fatty acids available in the pure product. They're sharp, bitter, and crunchy, offering a kind of coffee-like flavor that's great in granola, oatmeal, cereal, and more. Andy points out that they're also great sources of fiber, magnesium, and zinc.

• Hemp Seeds . Ah, hemp. It's good fortons of things, but on your food they add a serious nutritional punch to your salads, stews, cereals, granolas, oatmeal, and just about anything else you can add it to. For all of its nutty flavor, Andy reminds us that you also get 6.5 grams of protein (as much as one egg) per 2 tablespoon serving, along with 2 grams of fiber and a good bit of your recommended daily allowance of zinc, iron, magnesium, manganese, and yes, omega 3 fatty acids. Title image remixed from jurgajurga(Shutterstock).
• Oat Bran . Everyone's had an oat bran muffin, and even if you didn't care for it, oat bran itself has great heart benefits, incredible amounts of fiber (2.5 grams per 2 tablespoon, 30 calorie serving) and sizable dozes of phosphorus, selenium, and manganese. Andy suggests adding them to smoothies if you don't want it in baked goods, and we suggest mixing some in with your granola, hot cereals, or on top of yogurt or cottage cheese.
• These are just a few great boosts you can add to just about any type of meal, specifically breakfasts, cereals, salads, soups and stews, a steaming pot of lentils, or even dairy. It's just the tip of the iceberg however, and you can also add a nutritional punch with some more common seeds and superfoods, like ground flax, pomegranate seeds , and sunflower seeds . All of these are great sources of vitamins, minerals, and fiber that can be added to soups, salads, and stews, or stand on their own as a healthy mid-day snack. Plus, everything listed here should be available in your local grocery store or health food store. They may not all be cheap, but your health is worth it.
  

   

  Note: These Are Healthy Additions to a Healthy Diet

  These nutritional boosts are designed to make a healthy diet even healthier. None of them are a magic bullet that make sure you get your recommended dietary allowance of necessary vitamins and minerals—there is no such single fix. Andy notes that the idea here is to add these boosts to healthful, whole meals. You're not going to sprinkle some ground flax onto a pizza and somehow make that pizza good for you. Adding some chia seeds to a bowl of oatmeal, or some hemp seeds to whole grain pancake batter, will boost flavor and texture as well as nutritional content. When you're taking these tips to heart and introducing them to your diet, make sure you're also making the dietary changes necessary to maximize their impact. Photo by Rachel Hathaway .
  Do you have any favorite healthy additions to your meals that add protein or vitamins to your favorite meals? Share your meal boosting tips in the comments below.
  Andy Bellatti, MS, RD is a Seattle-based Nutritionist and the author of the nutrition blogSmall Bites . You can follow him on Twitter at @andybellatti . He offered his expertise for this story, and we thank him.

Make Some Extra Cash by Selling Stuff with Amazon's Fulfillment Program

February 23, 2012 9:06:24 AM

How to Sell Your Excess Crap for Cash in Just a Few Hours with Amazon's Fulfillment Program

lifehacker.com

Got crap? Want money instead? Amazon has a neat program that essentially lets you dump old books, movies, gadgets, and more in a box, send it to them, and then wait for the money to roll in. Here's how you can start using it and sell your stuff in no time.

How Does FBA Work and Why Should I Use It?

The name of the program is Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). Although it is designed to let sellers with high inventory have sales, shipping, and customer support handled entirely by Amazon, you can use it too. The primary advantage of using the FBA program is convenience. You basically dump your crap in a box, tell Amazon what's inside of that box, print out a shipping label, and schedule a pickup request. The process generally takes an hour or two, unless you have more stuff than you could ever possibly sell, and if you've already got the box(es) you're going to use you don't even have to leave your home. When Amazon gets the box, they'll post all your items for sale on their product pages and people will be able to buy them. Amazon will ship the items out for you in their own packaging and handle any customer issues that may arise post-sale. For these services you pay a small storage fee, $1 for shipping and handling, and the commission you'd pay for selling on Amazon in general. Although this service is really great, there are a few downsides you should be aware of:

• It's not great for cheap items, such as used books or DVDs nobody wants anymore. Basically, if you can't sell your item for over $4 you probably won't make much money using this service. When you add items to your inventory, however, Amazon will tell you what you'll make when/if the item sells so you'll know before you send it in.
• Not every item is sellable through this service. While you can generally add anything you could sell yourself on Amazon.com, sometimes Amazon will require certain packaging to be present so they can more easily add it to their system. Basically, if you're missing a bar code or ISBN you might have trouble adding it to the system—but this is not always the case.
• Although the process is really easy once you get started and you understand what you're doing, it's a little cumbersome at first. If you get annoyed easily or are just in a bad mood today, you might get a little frustrated. You've been warned!

If that all sounds good, you're ready to get started.

Okay, Sold! Now How Do I Get Started?

Before you can start the selling process, you're going to need to do the following:

1. Assuming you already have an Amazon account, sign up for an Amazon Seller account . Just click "Sell Your Stuff" and skip the professional option—it costs money.
2. Add FBA to your seller account .
3. Go get some boxes. (Or have a few delivered .)
4. Get all your excess crap together and grab your computer.

Once you've done all of that you're ready to get started.

How to List Your Items with FBA

Every time you use FBA, you have to manage your inventory by boxes. If you're only sending Amazon a single box of stuff, this is very easy because you only have to manage one box listing on FBA. If you're sending multiple boxes, you have to simply create a new box every time you fill one up with crap you want Amazon to sell for you. This method is used so the Amazon employees that unpack your boxes and stick them on the shelves for sale will be able to easily and efficiently find the items you have listed. Just follow these steps to create your first "box" and fill it up with inventory:

1. Sign in to Amazon Seller Central (if you haven't already) and hover over the Inventory menu. A few options will drop down. Choose Add a Listing.
2. Enter in the name of the product you want to sell and click Search. (Alternatively you can enter its UPC, EAN, ISBN, or ASIN if you know it.)
3. When your choices appear, select the correct one by clicking the Sell Yours button.
4. The next page looks a little more complicated, but the only things you need to fill out are the item condition, the price, and the quantity. If it isn't already selected, you'll also need to tell Amazon this is an FBA item. You do that by selecting the radio button next to "I want Amazon to ship and provide customer service for my items if they sell." When you're done, Click Save & Finish. (You do not need to click next, as those other options are reserved for people with professional accounts.)
5. If you're a new seller, Amazon will probably present you with a page that's asking you to make sure you're not selling anything hazardous, prohibited by law, alive, is capable of killing someone, and so on. (You know, nothing fun.) Click the Send Inventory button to move on.
6. On the next page, you'll need to let Amazon know where the items are shipping from. Most likely, this will be your default address and it will be filled in for you already. If you need to change it, however, just click the Change Address button to do so. Second, you'll need to tell Amazon you're sending them a bunch of items in one box. Right now you probably have the Individual Items option selected, but you need to switch that to Case-Packed Items. You'll notice this changes the inventory list below and there are a couple of fields to fill in: Units per Case and Number of Cases. If you're selling one book, you'd just fill in the number 1 for both of these. If you were selling one six pack of soda, you'd enter 6 units per case and 1 number of cases. If you were selling two of the same DVD, you'd enter 1 units per case and 2 number of cases. Got it? Click continue.
7. Amazon will now use your address to find the closest facility. I'm in Los Angeles, so I was assigned to PHX3 (Phoenix, AZ). You'll now be asked to name your shipment. FBA will automatically provide you with a generic name, which you can keep if you want or change it to something more interesting (like "Magic Pony Surprise Shipment"). Once you've settled on a name, click Save & Continue.
8. If that was all your were going to ship, you'd be done creating your box—but you're not. To continue adding more of your crap, just follow these steps again. When you get to step 7 (the previous step), however, you'll now be able to choose Add to an Existing Shipment rather than being forced to create a new one. Just choose the shipment you've already created for your previous items to keep them all bundled together.

How to Ship Your Boxes

When you add an item, be sure to add it to the box it's going to be shipped in—or at least keep all the items grouped together—so you don't lose track of which item belongs in which box. Once you've got all your boxes done, there's just a little more work to do to get your items to Amazon:

1. After adding your last item to a box, you can click the Work on Shipment button to start the shipping process. Alternatively, you can always find your FBA shipments by choosing Manage FBA Shipments from the Inventory menu. You'll find the Work on Shipment button next to any unfinished boxes on the resulting page, too.
2. After clicking the button, look over your shipment to see if there are any last-minute changes you want to make. If not, click Save & Continue.
3. You'll now be taken to the item labeling page where you can print out labels for all of your items. Do that, attach the labels to your items, and click Save & Continue.
4. Now you get to pick the size of your shipment and the carrier you want to use. Choose SPD because you're not shipping much. LTL is for shipping pallets that are at least 150 lbs. That better not be you. On the other side of the screen you want to choose Amazon-Partnered Carrier (which is usually UPS). This will let you buy a label from Amazon at a discount and have the carrier come pick up your stuff. You can choose another carrier and ship everything yourself, but we're going to assume that you want the easiest possible method. When you're ready to move on, click the familiar Save & Continue button.
5. It's packing slip time! Choose how many packing slips you want to print. You're going to need to put one in the box, but you might want to keep one for yourself because, you know, who doesn't love a packing slip? Enter the number you want to print, click the Print button, and pack it in your box along with everything else. This time, when you're ready, just click Continue. (There is no need to save!)
6. On the next page, enter the dimensions of your box and its weight. If you can't measure the weight exactly, use this method and round up. Click the Save button (this time you don't have to continue) and then, once your information has saved, click the Get Cost Estimate button.
7. The resulting page will give you a shipping estimate and ask you to agree to be charged for that amount. Agree and then click Accept Charges & Continue.
8. Print your label, stick it on the box as instructed, and schedule a pickup with the carrier (or just drop it off at a shipping store/facility)

Although there are a lot of details necessary to get everything in order with FBA, once you've finished your first box you'll get the hang of it and will be able to breeze through the process. If you want to sell a bunch of your stuff, you can do it much faster and without the headaches that often come with online sales by using this service. Once Amazon receives your shipments and sells your items, you'll be able to transfer all the money you made right into your back account. It's very useful and a great way to get money for crap you don't want without much effort on your part.

February 23, 2012 8:57:52 AM

Microsoft, Google and Netflix want to add DRM-hooks to W3C HTML5 standard

boingboing.net

Microsoft, Google and Netflix want to add DRM-hooks to W3C HTML5 standard

A proposed anti-copying extension for the WC3's standard for HTML5 has been submitted by representatives of Google, Microsoft and Netflix. The authors take pains to note that this isn't "DRM" — because it doesn't attempt to hide keys and other secrets from the user — but in a mailing list post, they later admitted that this could be "addressed" by running the browser inside a proprietary hardware system that hideverything from the user.

Other WC3 members — including another prominent Googler, Ian Hickson — have called for the withdrawal of the proposal. Hickson called it "unethical." I agree, and would add "disingenuous," too, since the proposal disclaims DRM while clearly being intended to form a critical part of a DRM system.
In an era where browsers are increasingly the system of choice for compromising users' security and privacy, it is nothing short of madness to contemplate adding extensions to HTML standards that contemplate designing devices and software to deliberately hide their workings from users, and to prevent users from seeing what they're doing and changing that behavior if it isn't in their interests.
Writing on Ars Technica, Ryan Paul gives a good blow-by-blow look at the way that this extension is being treated in the W3C:

Mozilla's Robert O'Callahan warned that the pressure to provide DRM in browsers might lead to a situation where major browser vendors and content providers attempt to push forward a suboptimal solution without considering the implications for other major stakeholders.
Some of the discussion surrounding the Encrypted Media proposal seem to validate his concerns. Mozilla's Chris Pearce commented on the issue in a message on the W3C HTML mailing list and asked for additional details to shed light on whether the intended content protection scheme could be supported in an open source application.
"Can you highlight how robust content protection can be implemented in an open source webrowser?" he asked. "How do you guard against an open source web browser simply being patched to write the frames/samples to disk to enable (presumably illegal) redistribution of the protected content?"
Netflix's Mark Watson responded to the message and acknowledged that strong copy protection can't be implemented in an open source Web browser. He deflected the issue by saying that copy protection mechanisms can be implemented in hardware, and that such hardware can be used by open source browsers.

"Unethical" HTML video copy protection proposal draws criticism from W3C reps(Thanks, Rob! )